I attended and spoke at SMR’s North American Stainless Steel & Special Metals Conference in Nashville November 7-8. The conference addresses multiple industry verticals beyond (and larger than) aerospace. That said, a number of topics beyond aerospace bear mentioning:
- Destocking will continue as overall demand for stainless steel remains weak
- In contrast, demand for aerospace steel is robust (we forecast ~6% CAGR over the next 5 years)
- The relief of US election outcome certainty was offset by the prospect of a fresh round of tariffs. Reactions to that were mixed: for US producers, tariffs were regarded as necessary to level the playing field; for others, the concern is it would further decrease demand in an already weak market.
- Concerns that Chinese suppliers continue to invest in capacity despite already being at overcapacity
Keep in mind, these observations apply to markets outside of aerospace.
